Mandatory Sick Leave Bill About to Pass

A mandatory paid-sick leave ordinance will be passed by the Seattle City Council after a majority of members on Thursday signaled they would vote for an amended version of the controversial idea that had been opposed by some business interests. Reported by the SeattlePI

Legislation the Seattle council has agreed upon specifies that the amount of sick time offered would vary by the size of the businesses:

Businesses with between one and four employees would NOT be required to offer sick leave.

Students in work-study jobs would also NOT be eligible.

Businesses with up to 49 workers would have to offer up to one hour of sick time for every 40 hours worked.

The biggest companies – 250 or more employees – would also need to give paid time off equivalent, one hour for every 30 hours worked.

The biggest businesses that already give PTO that combines sick time and vacation time into a “single pot” wouldn’t have to offer 1.5 hours of paid time off for every 30 hours worked.

Shift swapping would be allowed, and employees would have to work a minimum number of days to qualify.

Seattle is not alone and you will find bills in other areas such as Denver and Connecticut.

If you have been following the topic about mandatory paid sick leave, you may be familiar with the Council of Smaller Enterprises which advocates for businesses in Ohio.

When the new laws add expense a natural reaction is to eliminate other expenses; marketing being one of the first.

Instead of planning a more aggressive marketing campaign, there is a withdrawal and "save more" attitude. This is reactive leadership and offers only a constant "survival".

When the wave of legislation for mandatory sick leave passes one by one, it will not be a surprise. There is time to think of strategies to change the culture and mindset of the business. Increasing prices, reducing hours, changing the other benefits and hiring "temp workers" are a few of the first thoughts most will have.

What would happen to a business where all staff worked a maximum of three day work weeks? Is it possible the future small business will have more staff employed who work less days, less hours with few or no benefits? Will the team be more committed when working as a "part-timer"?

Regardless, when the new laws pass and business owners are seeking solutions, guerrilla marketing and inbound marketing will become more important than ever.